User blog:Tadano Hitoshi/Ragtag Hustle Kancolle Edition - Operation Ringlord and Everyday Hustle 4
'Operation Ringlord' ''--'' ''-- STRICTLY NO AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL OTHER THAN NAMED BELOW ARE TO BE ALLOWED ACCESS TO THIS ARTICLE UNLESS WITH PERMISSION--'' NAME: [ CLASSIFIED ] RANK: ADMIRAL DATE: [ CLASSIFIED ] TIME: [ CLASSIFIED ] LOCATION: [ CLASSIFIED ] OPERATION CODENAME: RINGLORD LOG STARTS HERE ''--'' REDACTED, REDACTEDhrs. I undertook the mission to retrieve the ring without anyone else but me knowing about it, and ordered Haruna, Akagi and Kaga along with three more veterans in my fleet (in my case, Sendai, Kiso and Maya) to sortie to Orel while covering it up with the excuse of clearing our daily missions. I retrieved the ring by myself before making our return trip to the base. That ring in my inventory shall stay within my black box until I can finally make up my mind... which is, whenever that happens. I am not too fond of the entire ring fiasco, however I can't say I'm too fond of those who opposed the mission altogether... nor can I say I'm too fond of those who outright calls it a 'Limiter Release Device' either. If it was just something symbolic, I would have not cared much. However it seems the ring does hold a hidden power that, according to the headquarters and the other Admirals I know of, 'will unlock the true potentials of the ring-bearer.' Considering what we've gone through since summer, there's no way I can just shrug off an artifact of such power. I wish there's a way I can bestow everyone the ability to unleash their own potentials with the power of the ring. I cannot just choose one while denying the rest. It seems there is a way if I wish to do that, but that'll need me to deal with headquarters with Akashi as their representative. For the time being I prefer not to. Besides, I believe the ones in my fleet already knows what the ring means if they ever catch wind of it. If they ever find out the ring is in my possession, I fear more than just chaos will befall this base. It might even be a civil war. 'Log Entry 2' ''--'' Day by day. Four of them. Should I call them the Four Devas, I wonder? In each of them there's like a storm brewing within themselves. I could describe their circumstances as akin to female animals in heat, but that would not be a very graceful term for a definition. '' '' Haruna isn't one who likes to be ignored. I can sense how dejected she sounds when I decide to leave her be while she's on secretary duty. She's also getting more forward with wanting some... skinship from me lately, ever since we ended our Sav Islands campaign. Akagi and Kaga seems to be coming on to me as a pair. Akagi is much more subtle about it compared to Kaga, though. Come to think of it, Kaga is always the odd one of the two despite how deadpan she is. Sendai has been catching up, not wanting to be left behind these three. It's been tough trying to evade from her nightly advances, and ever since that one day, she's been very clever in sniffing me out. Then there are also some other ones who're coming onto me as well. It's getting harder to play it safe nowadays. That one day with Maya after I told her off for reading magazines in the middle of an incoming enemy airstrike. She's been holding it in for long, if I recall what Kiso said about her. For how long? After I checked back my roster, I just realized she was in the fleet much more longer before Haruna, first of my battleships, reported for duty. It seems I can no longer deny this fleet the skinship they need. Well, I've slowly been letting go of the 'no-touch' policy, but I didn't think it'd be that severe. Guess that was one thing I've been neglecting for far too long. Kiso seems to be more conscious on the fact that she's a woman lately, something she used not to mind much. But seeing how she is, I'm thinking she would still choose to be my lead, at times she'll just rest an arm on my shoulders, and bring me close. ... She knows how to play her cards a little bit too well with me, being the second most senior ship in my fleet, but I have faith in her. Mutsu and Atago are upset that I haven't been paying attention to them lately. Especially the latter. Observing Shigure and Yuudachi, they're getting more eager for secretary tasks. Puberty does a lot of things to them, I guess, but I didn't know it can come with the upgrades I gave them for the summer operations. Yuudachi, though... even with that, she still wants me to play with her. Shigure's the most forward of the two however. Tone, well... she's been trying to get some reactions from me by flipping her skirt in front of me. I'm pretty sure she thinks it's some sort of play, but Chikuma seems to be too reluctant to tell her that - or rather, she doesn't seem to care at all. ... I have a faint feeling I'm about to get double of this when I get her to her second upgrade someday as well. A possibly even more daring approach, I reckon. Souryuu asking for a date on top of my initial offer for her second upgrade took the base by storm, especially the Four Devas. It took me quite some time to have Souryuu convince everyone she was just kidding and she didn't mean anything special with it, in order to calm the base down. I get the feeling the Second Carrier Division had something up in their sleeves... but I don't think it's anything to be wary about, I suppose. They're more of a cheery pair compared to the First Carrier Division girls, but I also need to keep in mind that they can really do something when they put their minds into it. Hiryuu seems to be one I should watch out for as well, since she can get even more serious than Souryuu. I've been accompanying Ashigara for mixers, but nowadays she doesn't seem to actually go to one by much, and would rather have me around as she goes out. She keeps telling me she's going to one these days, but I don't see it. It's always me and her outside. ... The base isn't going to be happy if they know she uses mixers as a pretext to having me around when she decides to have an outing. Choukai seems to be happy I'm giving her more attention ever since I gave her second upgrade. Well, I suppose that is natural enough considering she has been here before Maya did, but at that time preparations for the summer operations kind of overrode almost every plan I had for the fleet and I was considering her as well. Now taking over Haruna's role for night operations, she's an excellent performer. ... What do I think of the autumn nights? Nights in general to me are all the same. Well, as a person who lived near the Equator, I never put too much thought into it. Maybe I'll understand what do nights for each of the four seasons feel like some day. Yamato ... Ah, yes. She's been inviting me for fine dining a lot. I kept trying to decline, but it seems she knows it's hard for me to resist food. Just... I want her to do away with the fine dining. Maybe I should hold back on my food cravings for a bit and tell her that I'm resigning to cup noodles if she keeps inviting me to fine dining with her. ... All in all, with these said, it's time for a list. Of what I'd call "danger tier levels." Tier 1 - Haruna. She is gentle but she isn't easy to shake off. It's like running into a spider web. Hard to brush it away once you get some on you. Tier 2 - Sendai. She's been on my tail even before we started the summer operations, and she isn't cutting me any slack. One wrong move and I might end up beneath her for some reason. Tier 3 - Maya. There's that incident where Haruna stopped her cold in her tracks. If I was a woman and she was a man and Haruna didn't come to the picture, something would definitely have happened on that day. Tier 4 - Mutsu and Atago. They are very eager ladies. They just chose to go about it in a way ladies who have caught sight of their 'prey' would. Tier 5 - As well as showing a little bit of maturity, I feel the puberty hormones are also rubbing off on Yuudachi and Shigure as well. The former doesn't have any idea yet on why she's so eager to have me as company more often, but the latter is very aware of why on her own. Tier 6 - Akagi and Kaga. Though it's easy for them to get distracted by food, I dread the day they decide to be very serious. In which they're not of this tier anymore. Tier 7 - Kiso. I don't know whether she wants to be girly or not. Then again there are women who naturally act like ladykillers that even men become girly girls in their presence... No, no. I'm not falling for that. Tier 8 - Ashigara. I'm thinking outings with me as company are starting to replace her plans for mixers... Tier 9 - Choukai and Yamato. Well, let's see if I can crush the flags they're trying to build here. Tier 10 - Souryuu and Hiryuu. Least concern. I don't know, they might take me by surprise some day. Also Tone. She seems to think she's just being playful, but I wonder why Chikuma doesn't even bother to tell her why she shouldn't do that. ... Why I'm being so cautious with this, you ask? It's not because I hate them. They are my important personnel. But... '' ''"Shipgirls, they are living weapons but they are also human. Human beings have feelings. For what we constructed as a weapon to suddenly become human and sentient, feelings make them unstable. If they go out of control, disable them immediately. I know you can do it." Like hell I could. I cannot just simply deny them their humanity. Tell me, is that how you deal with soldiers suffering from PTSD? Just because they are somehow - magical, if I might say it - beings who embody the spirit of old weapons sunk deep in the sea, you choose to see them as weapons and nothing else? That stupid master of mine knows how fucked up this entire fiasco is, yet... why he let those geezers live is still beyond me. And here I am, with my directive - don't be too personal, don't make them go emotional; if they lose control, terminate them. The former? Simple, any man strongly bound by duty could do that much at least. The latter? What do you think they are? Machines? They '''used' to be machines. Not right now. ... And that last bit. Even that stupid master is disgusted.'' They don't plan to keep anyone whose Admirals in charge lose control of them. Either that or the headquarters decide that one day they can finally retire the entire system they've created to combat the Abyssals in the first place, because they managed to give birth to new weaponry independent of ship girls, one where humanity might stand a chance against the Abyss on their own. When that happens, what will become of these women? The end of the road can be very heartbreaking for many. LOG ENDS HERE -- 'Souryuu Kai Ni' Admiral: "Great Scott. Your joke almost made the base go into DEFCON 1." Souryuu: "Whatever do you mean by that? Anyway, Admiral, I think you're still too much into your 'hands-off' policy." Admiral: "..." Souryuu: "Geez! I would've never thought I'd get such an Admiral who's very allergic to interpersonal relationships for some weird reason! Are you sure you don't swing the other way?" Admiral: "For the umpteenth time, Souryuu, I assure you I have just as much interest in women just like how a normal man would. It's just... I don't really feel right when it also has to coincide with the fact any candidate that would attract my interest would be my colleagues - all of you - right here. I feel I just cannot commit into a relationship with a colleague. I don't know why myself, I just... can't." Souryuu: "You sound like you really need a psychiatrist for that. Something in your psyche is giving you that mental block for some reason. Are you sure you're fine?" Admiral: "I believe I'm fine. I'm aware of that, and I'm trying to open myself up as much as I could." Souryuu: "I think there's something in your upbringing that made you the way you are. For the time being, Admiral... you need a break. That's the reason I asked you out the other day." Admiral: "But you know how that ended up." Souryuu: "Fine. Let's make this a group outing." Admiral: "Who's joining us apart from Hiryuu?" Souryuu: "You'll know when the time comes." Admiral: "?" Souryuu: "Anyway, it's time for my upgrade, yes?" Admiral: "... Yes. Come on." 'The Day of the Outing' Admiral: (Oh great. It's these people in my alert list. ... All things considered, weren't Souryuu and Hiryuu in that list, too?) Haruna: "To go out together with the Admiral, Haruna is deeply moved to receive such a gesture. But this amount of people is a little bit..." Kaga: "Do you have a problem with it, Haruna''-san''?" Haruna: "Um, no, no! But... we sure are attracting a crowd with our numbers." Akagi: "I'm pretty sure it's just our numbers if you say so." Haruna: "But there's the Admiral with us..." Kaga: "... That's true. Well, I might have a solution for that. Admiral." Admiral: "...?" Kaga: "Call me Onee-chan." Admiral: "... Eh." Kaga: "Come on, try it." Admiral: "... Right here where we stand, Kaga, a storm is brewing." Kaga turns around to discover everyone in their group glaring daggers at her, except for Akagi who's chewing on rice crackers. Kaga: "Oh my. You're right." Admiral: "Look, I don't give a damn on how others see us as. Let's get going already. Too much dilly-dallying and we're going back, I won't entertain any objections. Are we in agreement?" Kaga: "As you command." They then proceed to have a rather normal, uneventful outing on that day. ... Except maybe for that one time where Yuudachi and Shigure playfully drags the Admiral around by his hands, with him wearing his usual poker face. Category:Blog posts